Michele Ferrero lived from 26 April 1925 to 14 February 2015. He was the Italian who owned the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA. Ferrero started this company in 1946, from a small bakery and café of his father in Alba, Piedmont. Michele Ferrero's brands include Nutella, Mon Chéri, Kinder Chocolate, Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tacs and Kinder Eggs. He is said to have named Ferrero Rocher after a sacred grotto in Lourdes. Ferrero and his wife Maria Franca Fissolo had two sons together, Giovanni Ferrero and Pietro Ferrero Jr.Michele was a fervent Catholic. Ferrero made a pilgrimage to the Lourdes shrine annually, and had a Madonna placed in every factory and office.Ferrero died on 14 February 2015, at his home in Monte Carlo, Monaco. He was 89. Michele Ferrero said at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the company: “The success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes, without her we can do little.” Michele Ferrero was the richest person in Italy, with a worth of $23.4 billion. Ferrero operates in 53 countries with over 34,000 employees.

David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), was known as David Bowie. He was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, painter and actor. Bowie's music was popular for over five decades. He was born and raised in south London. He began a music career in 1963. "Space Oddity" became his first top five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969. Bowie married Mary Angela Barnett on 19 March 1970. They had a son together, Duncan, who was born on 30 May 1971. Bowie and Angela divorced on 8 February 1980. (Picture below left)On 24 April 1992, Bowie married the Somali-American model Iman. They had one daughter, Alexandria "Lexi" Zahra Jones, born in August 2000. (Pictured above left) The couple resided in New York City and London.

In an Interview in 2005 he said, "Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always." In an Esquire interview "What I've Learned", he stated, "I'm in awe of the universe, but I don't necessarily believe there's an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for the visual in religious rituals, though, even though they may be completely empty and bereft of substance. The incense is powerful and provocative, whether Buddhist or Catholic."In an Interview with Belief Net he was asked : Do you feel like your thinking about those questions has changed or deepened?I honestly believe that my initial questions haven't changed at all. There are far fewer of them these days, but they're really important. Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing. Always. It's because I'm not quite an atheist and it worries me. There's that little bit that holds on...Here is a video when David Bowie prayed the Our Father; please say a prayer for his Soul....

Pope Francis hugs a man at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 13. - AP

13/01/2016 13:03

(Vatican Radio) During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis spoke on the mercy of God as spoken about in the Bible.

Delivering his catechesis Wednesday in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, the Pope said in the Old Testament, God reveals he is the God of Mercy.

The Holy Father explained how the Hebrew word for Mercy evokes the sort of tenderness shown by a mother for her child.

In Scripture, the Pope said, the God of mercy is gracious, slow to anger, and abounds in “steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by inviting the faithful during the Jubilee of Mercy to “turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.”

Below find the official English language summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In this Jubilee Year, our weekly catechesis will explore the mystery of divine mercy. In the Book of Exodus, God defines himself as the God of mercy. In words which echo throughout the Old Testament, he tells Moses that he is “the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6). The Hebrew word for mercy evokes the tender and visceral love of a mother for her child. The God of mercy is also gracious, ever ready to understand and forgive. He is slow to anger, prepared to wait patiently, like a wise farmer, for the seeds of repentance to grow in our hearts. Likewise, he abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness. God’s love, freely given, precedes any merit on our part; his faithfulness, like that of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, has no limits. He waits for us, ever ready to forgive our sins and to welcome us back to a right relationship with him. In this Year of Mercy, may we turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis Wednesday remembered the victims of Tuesday’s suicide bomb attack in Istanbul which left ten people dead.

Listen to Ann Schneible's report:

Speaking in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall during his weekly general audience, the Pope asked for prayers for those killed in the attack, and for their families.

“Before concluding our encounter, in which we have reflected on God’s Mercy, I invite you to pray for the victims of the attack which took place yesterday in Istanbul.”

“May God, the merciful, grant eternal peace to the departed, comfort to their families, determined solidarity to the whole society, and convert the hearts of the violent."

The suicide bomber killed nine German and one Peruvian tourist on Jan 12 in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet Square.

The Islamic State is being blamed for the attack, which also injured fifteen people.

The bomber has been identified by Turkish authorities as a Syrian who recently entered the country.

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 307

Reading 11 SM 3:1-10, 19-20

During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli,a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.One day Eli was asleep in his usual place.His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORDwhere the ark of God was.The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”

Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”“I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.”So he went back to sleep.Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.“Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am.You called me.”Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’”When Samuel went to sleep in his place,the LORD came and revealed his presence,calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,not permitting any word of his to be without effect.Thus all Israel from Dan to Beershebacame to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD.

Responsorial PsalmPS 40:2 AND 5, 7-8A, 8B-9, 10

R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.I have waited, waited for the LORD,and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;who turns not to idolatryor to those who stray after falsehood.R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,but ears open to obedience you gave me.Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;then said I, “Behold I come.”R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.To do your will, O my God, is my delight,and your law is within my heart!”R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.I announced your justice in the vast assembly;I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

AlleluiaJN 10:27

GospelMK 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogueJesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.They immediately told him about her.He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.The whole town was gathered at the door.He cured many who were sick with various diseases,and he drove out many demons,not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn,he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.Simon and those who were with him pursued himand on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villagesthat I may preach there also.For this purpose have I come.”So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demonsthroughout the whole of Galilee.

Bishop, born in that city at the beginning of the fourth century; died there 1 November, according to the most accredited opinion, or according to the Roman Breviary, on 13 January, 368. Belonging to a noble and very probably pagan family, he was instructed in all the branches of profane learning, but, having also taken up the study of Holy Scripture and finding there the truth which he sought so ardently, he renounced idolatry and was baptized. Thenceforth his wide learning and his zeal for the Faith attracted such attention that he was chosen about 350 to govern the body of the faithful which the city had possessed since the third century. We know nothing of the bishops who governed this society in the beginning. Hilary is the first concerning whom we have authentic information, and this is due to the important part he played in opposing heresy. The Church was then greatly disturbed by internal discords, the authority of the popes not being so powerful in practice as either to prevent or to stop them. Arianism had made frightful ravages in various regions and threatened to invade Gaul, where it already had numerous partisans more or less secretly affiliated with it. Saturninus, Bishop of Arles, the most active of the latter, being exposed by Hilary, convened and presided over a council at Béziers in 356 with the intention of justifying himself, or rather of establishing his false doctrine. Here the Bishop of Poitiers courageously presented himself to defend orthodoxy, but the council, composed for the most part of Arians, refused to hear him, and being shortly afterwards denounced to the Emperor Constantius, the protector of Arianism, he was at his command transported to the distant coasts of Phrygia.

But persecution could not subdue the valiant champion. Instead of remaining inactive during his exile he gave himself up to study, completed certain of his works which he had begun, and wrote his treatise on the synods. In this work he analysed the professions of faith uttered by the Oriental bishops in the Councils of Ancyra, Antioch, and Sirmium, and while condemning them, since they were in substance Arian, he sought to show that sometimes the difference between the doctrines of certain heretics and orthodox beliefs was rather in the words than in the ideas, which led to his counselling the bishops of the West to be reserved in their condemnation. He was sharply reproached for his indulgence by certain ardent Catholics, the leader of whom was Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari. However, in 359, the city of Seleucia witnessed the assembly in synod of a large number of Oriental bishops, nearly all of whom were either Anomoeans or Semi-Arians. Hilary, whom everyone wished to see and hear, so great was his reputation for learning and virtue, was invited to be present at this assembly. The governor of the province even furnished him with post horses for the journey. In presence of the Greek fathers he set forth the doctrines of the Gallic bishops, and easily proved that, contrary to the opinion current in the East, these latter were not Sabellians. Then he took part in the violent discussions which took place between the Semi-Arians, who inclined toward reconciliation with the Catholics, and the Anomoeans, who formed as it were the extreme left of Arianism.

After the council, which had no result beyond the wider separation of these brothers in enmity, he left for Constantinople, the stronghold of heresy, to continue his battle against error. But while the Semi-Arians, who were less numerous and less powerful, besought him to become the intermediary in a reconciliation between themselves and the bishops of the West, the Anomoeans, who had the immense advantage of being upheld by the emperor, besought the latter to send back to his own country this Gallic bishop, who, they said, sowed discord and troubled the Orient. Constantius acceded to their desire, and the exile was thus enabled to set out on his journey home. In 361 Hilary re-entered Poitiers in triumph and resumed possession of his see. He was welcomed with the liveliest joy by his flock and his brothers in the episcopate, and was visited by Martin, his former disciple and subsequently Bishop of Tours. The success he had achieved in his combat against error was rendered more brilliant shortly afterwards by the deposition of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles by whom he had been persecuted. However, as in Italy the memory still rankled of the efforts he had made to bring about a reconciliation between the nearly converted Semi-Arians and the Catholics, he went in 364 to the Bishop of Vercelli to endeavour to overcome the intolerance of the partisans of the Bishop Lucifer mentioned above. Almost immediately afterwards, that it might be seen that, if he was full of indulgence for those whom gentleness might finally win from error, he was intractable towards those who were obstinate in their adherence to it, he went to Milan, there to assail openly Auxentius, the bishop of that city, who was a firm defender of the Arian doctrines. But the Emperor Valentinian, who protected the heretic, ordered Hilary to depart immediately from Milan.

He then returned to his city of Poitiers, from which he was not again to absent himself and where he was to die. This learned and energetic bishop had fought against error with the pen as well as in words. The best edition of his numerous and remarkable writings is that published by Dom Constant under the title: "Sancti Hilarii, Pictavorum episcopi opera, ad manuscriptos codices gallicanos, romanos, belgicos, necnon ad veteres editiones castigata" (Paris, 1693). The Latin Church celebrates his feast on 14 January, and Pius IX raised him to the rank of Doctor of the Universal Church. The Church of Puy glories in the supposed possession of his relics, but according to one tradition his body was borne to the church of St-Denys near Paris, while according to another it was taken from the church of St-Hilaire at Poitiers and burned by the Protestants in 1572.

The new book is an interview between Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli, an Italian journalist with the Vatican Insider news website. The book is being published in 86 countries and about 20 languages . Press Release:In his first book published as Pope, and in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis here invites all humanity to an intimate and personal dialogue on the subject closest to his heart—mercy—which has long been the cornerstone of his faith and is now the central teaching of his papacy.In this conversation with Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, Francis explains—through memories from his youth and moving anecdotes from his experiences as a pastor—why “mercy is the first attribute of God.” God “does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins,” he writes. As well, the Church cannot close the door on anyone, Francis asserts—on the contrary, its duty is to go out into the world to find its way into the consciousness of people so that they can assume responsibility for, and move away from, the bad things they have done.The first Jesuit and the first South American to be elected Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has traveled around the world spreading God’s message of mercy to the largest crowds in papal history. Clear and profound, The Name of God Is Mercy resonates with this desire to reach all those who are looking for meaning in life, a road to peace and reconciliation, and the healing of physical and spiritual wounds. It is being published in more than eighty countries around the world.“The name of God is mercy. There are no situations we cannot get out of, we are not condemned to sink into quicksand.”—Pope FrancisTranslated by Oonagh Stransky - Available at:http://www.amazon.com/The-Name-God-Is-Mercy/dp/0399588639Excerpts from the Book released by the Publisher“The Pope is a man who needs the mercy of God,” the Holy Father says in the book-length interview. “I said it sincerely to the prisoners of Palmasola, in Bolivia, to those men and women who welcomed me so warmly. I reminded them that even Saint Peter and Saint Paul had been prisoners. I have a special relationship with people in prisons, deprived of their freedom. I have always been very attached to them, precisely because of my awareness of being a sinner.” “Every time I go through the gates into a prison to celebrate Mass or for a visit, I always think: why them and not me? I should be here. I deserve to be here. Their fall could have been mine. I do not feel superior to the people who stand before me. And so I repeat and pray: why him and not me? It might seem shocking, but I derive consolation from Peter: he betrayed Jesus, and even so he was chosen.” Pope John Paul I: ‘engraved in dust’ The Holy Father also remembers being touched by the writings of his predecessor Pope John Paul I, Albino Luciani. “There is the homily when Albino Luciani said he had been chosen because the Lord preferred that certain things not be engraved in bronze or marble but in the dust, so that if the writing had remained, it would have been clear that the merit was all and only God’s. He, the bishop and future Pope John Paul I, called himself ‘dust’.” “I have to say that when I speak of this, I always think of what Peter told Jesus on the Sunday of his resurrection, when he met him on his own, a meeting hinted at in the Gospel of Luke. What might Peter have said to the Messiah upon his resurrection from the tomb? Might he have said that he felt like a sinner? He must have thought of his betrayal, of what had happened a few days earlier when he pretended three times not to recognise Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest’s house. He must have thought of his bitter and public tears.” “If Peter did all of that, if the gospels describe his sin and denials to us, and if despite all this Jesus said [to him], ‘tend my sheep’ (John 21), I don’t think we should be surprised if his successors describe themselves as sinners. It is nothing new.”Miserando atque eligendoTelling the story of his episcopal motto, Pope Francis returns to an experience of God’s mercy, which took place in his teenage years.“I don’t have any particular memories of mercy as a young child. But I do as a young man. I think of Father Carlos Duarte Ibarra, the confessor I met in my parish church on September 21, 1953, the day the Church celebrated Saint Matthew, the apostle and evangelist. I was seventeen years old. On confessing myself to him, I felt welcomed by the mercy of God.”“Ibarra was originally from Corrientes but was in Buenos Aires to receive treatment for leukaemia. He died the following year. I still remember how when I got home, after his funeral and burial, I felt as though I had been abandoned. And I cried a lot that night, really a lot, and hid in my room.”“Why? Because I had lost a person who helped me feel the mercy of God, that miserando atque eligendo, an expression I didn’t know at the time but I eventually would choose as my episcopal motto. I learned about it later, in the homilies of the English monk, the Venerable Bede [672-735]. When describing the calling of Matthew, he writes: “Jesus saw the tax collector and by having mercy chose him as an apostle saying to him, ‘follow me’.” “This is the translation commonly given for the words of Saint Bede [originally written in Latin]. I like to translate “miserando” with another gerund that doesn’t exist: misericordando or mercying. So, “mercying him and choosing him” describes the vision of Jesus who gives the gift of mercy and chooses, and takes with him.”Church condemns sin, shows mercy to sinner“The Church condemns sin because it has to relay the truth: ‘this is a sin’. But at the same time, it embraces the sinner who recognises himself as such, it welcomes him, it speaks to him of the infinite mercy of God. Jesus forgave even those who crucified and scorned him.”“To follow the way of the Lord, the Church is called on to dispense its mercy over all those who recognise themselves as sinners, who assume responsibility for the evil they have committed, and who feel in need of forgiveness. The Church does not exist to condemn people, but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy.” “I often say that in order for this to happen, it is necessary to go out: to go out from the churches and the parishes, to go outside and look for people where they live, where they suffer, and where they hope. I like to use the image of a field hospital to describe this “Church that goes forth”. It exists where there is combat. It is not a solid structure with all the equipment where people go to receive treatment for both small and large infirmities. It is a mobile structure that offers first aid and immediate care, so that its soldiers do not die.” “It is a place for urgent care, not a place to see a specialist. I hope that the Jubilee [The Holy Year of Mercy] will serve to reveal the Church’s deeply maternal and merciful side, a Church that goes forth toward those who are “wounded,” who are in need of an attentive ear, understanding, forgiveness, and love.” Mercy yes, corruption noPope Francis goes on to point out the difference between sin and corruption, saying the corrupt man lacks the humility to recognise his sins. “Corruption is the sin which, rather than being recognised as such and rendering us humble, is elevated to a system; it becomes a mental habit, a way of living. We no longer feel the need for forgiveness and mercy, but we justify ourselves and our behaviours.” “Jesus says to his disciples: even if your brother offends you seven times a day, and seven times a day he returns to you to ask for forgiveness, forgive him. The repentant sinner, who sins again and again because of his weakness, will find forgiveness if he acknowledges his need for mercy. The corrupt man is the one who sins but does not repent, who sins and pretends to be Christian, and it is this double life that is scandalous.” “The corrupt man does not know humility, he does not consider himself in need of help, he leads a double life. We must not accept the state of corruption as if it were just another sin. Even though corruption is often identified with sin, in fact they are two distinct realities, albeit interconnected.”“Sin, especially if repeated, can lead to corruption, not quantitatively — in the sense that a certain number of sins makes a person corrupt — but rather qualitatively: habits are formed that limit one’s capacity for love and create a false sense of self-sufficiency.”“The corrupt man tires of asking for forgiveness and ends up believing that he doesn’t need to ask for it any more. We don’t become corrupt people overnight. It is a long, slippery slope that cannot be identified simply as a series of sins. One may be a great sinner and never fall into corruption if hearts feel their own weakness. That small opening allows the strength of God to enter.” “When a sinner recognises himself as such, he admits in some way that what he was attached to, or clings to, is false. The corrupt man hides what he considers his true treasure, but which really makes him a slave and masks his vice with good manners, always managing to keep up appearances.”